Last winter, as tourists flocked to Gangwon Province, it was reported that the number of visitors to Yangyang exceeded 17 times the registered population. These individuals contributed to nearly half of the consumption in areas of Gangwon experiencing population decline.
According to the results of the '2024 fourth-quarter living population estimate' announced by the Statistics Korea on the 26th, the total living population in 89 areas experiencing population decline last October was 30.92 million. The living population is a concept that combines registered population and transient population (people who stayed for more than three hours at least once a month). Among this, the transient population stood at 26.03 million, which is 5.3 times the registered population.
The region with the highest transient population multiplier was Yangyang. In October, Yangyang's transient population multiplier was 17.3 times. This means that tourists, commuters, and second-home residents based in the city exceeded the registered population by over 17 times. In November, Yangyang ranked second after Gapyeong (12.0 times), and in December, it placed third, following Muju (10.6 times) and Pyeongchang (10.3 times).
In December, the average card spending per transient population was 124,000 won, with spending in the cultural and leisure sectors being particularly prominent in Gangwon Province. While the national average card spending in the cultural and leisure sectors was just over 100,000 won, Gangwon exceeded 140,000 won from October to November. Gangwon has established itself as a tourist city.
The proportion of card spending by the transient population relative to the registered population was also higher in Gangwon than in other provinces. The card spending proportion of the transient population was 36.9% nationwide, but Gangwon recorded 54% in November, 51.8% in November, and 47.9% in December.
Looking at the main characteristics of each province, Jeonnam had higher rates of revisit, average length of stay, length of accommodation, proportion of residents from other provinces, and per capita spending compared to the overall average.
In Jeonbuk, the revisit rate, which is the proportion of individuals who stayed more than once in the previous two months, stood at 41.1%. This is 2.3 percentage points higher than the national average (38.8%). The length of stay and accommodation in Jeonbuk were 3.4 days and 4.1 days, respectively, longer than the national averages of 3.3 days and 3.8 days. While the proportion of residents from other provinces was 68.3% nationwide, Jeonnam recorded 71.6%. The per capita spending was 116,000 won nationwide, while Jeonnam recorded 118,000 won.
Gyeongbuk had higher rates of revisit (40.9%), average length of stay (12.1 hours), length of accommodation (4.0 days), proportion of residents from other provinces (72.1%), and per capita spending (124,000 won) compared to the average.